The veteran defensemen, who are neighbors during the summer and in the Blackhawks' dressing room throughout the season, have skated side by side for much of their NHL careers to form one of the league's top pairings along the blue line. Come February, they will seek an opportunity to pair up for Canada in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Keith and Seabrook — along with Hawks teammates Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Corey Crawford — took the first step toward securing roster spots for the Games when they attended Day 1 of the four-day orientation camp that will feature meetings on playing systems, travel and housing logistics and plenty of team bonding.

While the bulk of the 25-man roster that the Hockey Canada hierarchy will assemble in an effort to secure a second consecutive gold medal will be determined by how players perform in the opening months of the NHL season, the fact five members of the Stanley Cup champion Hawks — the most of any team in the NHL — are attending the camp could help considering the chemistry they share. With limited time to practice after the NHL takes a three-week break during the season for the Olympics and the start of the Games, any little edge can help.

"We know what each other is doing," Seabrook said of Keith on Sunday. "We've played together for a lot of years. It's a (comfort level and) we play well with that."

Still, Team Canada coach Mike Babcock said the Hawks' familiarity with each other won't be a significant determining factor on who makes the roster. It's all about ability.

"The guys that play the best are going to be on the team — the guys that can skate, the guys take care of the puck (and) the guys that play 200 feet," Babcock said. "This (camp) is an opportunity to get to know one another, get some sense of how we're going to play and understand what it's going to take. In the end, the management team's going to watch them very closely the first three months. Whoever's playing the best will be on the team."

Because of insurance issues, players will not take the ice during the camp, but the management group stressed to the 47 invited players what can be accomplished in Calgary can be a steppingstone to Sochi.

"It's just good to come here," Keith said. "It's a privilege to be part of Hockey Canada and I think we're all just kind of excited to meet the other guys who have a chance to make the team. Looking back four years ago, it was a good experience to come here and for the guys who do make the team it makes it that much more comfortable come February."

Sharp, who missed the cut for the 2010 team that captured gold in Vancouver, said he is willing to do whatever it takes to don his country's sweater in Russia.

"I know that every Canadian kid will do whatever is asked from the coaches to be on that team," Sharp said. "I'm certainly one of those guys."